Closure for containers



Aug. 7, 1929- F. R. H. mas-HALL 1,726 080 CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed 001;. 24, 1927 FR/(Narshczll Patented Aug. 27, 1929.

-UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE.

CLOSURE roa CONTAINERS.

Application filed October 24, 1927, Serial No. 228,425 and in Great Britain October 29, 1926.

This invention relates to closures for bottles, and like containers.

At the present time there are various forms of closures in which a disc or the like is held on the top of the bottle or other vessel by means of a. band. -This band is generally placed in position to retain the disc and then has its lower edge bent or spun in under a flange formed on the outside of the vessel; to remove the cap a tongue formed on one end of the band and passed through a slot in the other end is raised up or broken off so that the band can be removed and the disc or lid is thus freed.

The form in which the tongue has to be broken off makes a closure which is substantially irreplaceable and is accordingly suitable for use with bottles containing certified milk or for other purposes where it is desired to use a form of closure which is'substantially,

irreplaceable except by the manufacturers who have available a supply of unused bands and the necessary machinery for applying them. The main object of the present invention is to produce an improved form of closure which is also substantially irreplaceable and which is eflective, cheap to manufacture and easy to remove.

A closure in accordance with the present invention comprises a disc or lid and a band of which one end has a portion or lug or tongue overlapping the other and carried beyond the point of attachment. To form the actual attachment, the'parts are'punched together to form a hollow riveted joint which is permanent until the ends of the band are forcibly torn apart when it is practically irreplaceable without such replacement being apparent. The closure is of course put into position in the usual way, its lower edge being bent or spun in underneath the flange; but to remove it, it is only necessary to break the connection by pulling or levering on the overlapping tongue or like beyond the point of connection, whereupon the tongue or the like will pull the end of the band of which it is an extension away from the other end,

and the whole band can in fact be removed bodilv by continuing to pull or lever upon the tongue or like after the connection has been ruptured.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 represents a blank for making band. 3

t Fig. 2 shows the band ready for applica- Fig. 3 being a section on line A-A.

Fig. 4 represents the top of a bottle or like showing the closure applied.

Referring to the drawings,-it will besecn that the blank as shown is provided with a tongue 1 provided with a hole 2 near its tip and a second hole 2 near its other end. The blank is bent round and the two ends connected by a punching and riveting process which makes a hole near the base of the tongue at 3 and burrs over the material on the underside of the edge of the hole 2*, as shown at 9, Fig. 3, forming a sort of hollow riveted joint. The upper flange 4 is also formed, leaving the band ready for application as shown at Figs. 2 and 3. If desired, a hole or depression preferably formed by means of a conical punch or otherwise so as to assist in locating the parts for the subsequent forming of the connection, can be formed at 3 in the original blank and the joint otherwise similarly made.

To apply the closure, the cap or disc 5 having been inserted in the band, the latter is placed on the bottle or other vessel; the lower flange 6 is then turned in under the flange 7 of the bottle 8 or like.

To remove the band in the form shown, the prong of a fork or any other suitable implement is placed through the hole 2 and an outward and backward movement or leverage first tears the ends of the band apart and then removes the band bodily from the vessel. The tearing apart of the band necessitates either the deformation of the burr 9, Fig. 3, or the rupture of the edge of the hole 2 or deformation of the band adjacent said hole as-will be readily understood. The band cannot thereafter be reset in its former position without obvious traces that it has been interfered with. The tab or tongue 1 is preferably long enough to be gripped by the fingers for rupturing the connection if desired.

In a modification, a separate piece or strip may be laid over abutting ends of the band and attached to each end in the way already described, the strip being torn away from either end or both ends to open. Alternatively more than one lap joint may be employed where desired or found necessary.

It is to be observed that the necessity for a forcible tearing apart of the ends is one of the characteristics of the invention-that is to say, that when the band is broken there is practically essentially an actual rupture or breaking off of some of the metal forming the punched connection.

I claim:

A closure for a container provided with a top flange comprising a disc and a preformed band, said band having a flange on its upper edge adapted to retain said disc and a surplusage of width adapted to form a lower flange in 10 situ on the container, said band being formed from a strip of substantially uniform width,

and means to attach the ends of said band comprising a hole adjacent to one end and metal secured to the other end driven inwardly through said hole and riveted on the inside, the inner of said ends lying close against the outside of the top flange of the container whereby the expanded part of the metal is Wholly inaccessible once the completed closure has been applied to the container.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FREDK. ROBERT HUGH MARSHALL. 

